Obama Gets Slight Bump in Quinnipiac Poll

By Steven Shepard  //  May 5, 2011 | 6:33 a.m.
Updated: May 5, 2011 | 8:05 a.m.

President Obama: The list is long. (Pool/Getty Images)

President Obama scores his highest approval ratings in nearly two years in a new Quinnipiac University poll out early today, but that spike does not translate to his handling of the economy.

A majority of voters -- 52 percent -- approves of the job Obama is doing as president in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden, while just 40 percent disapprove. That is up substantially from the last publicly-released poll in late March that showed Obama's approval rating at only 42 percent. It is also higher than a poll that Quinnipiac had in the field from April 26-May 1, which showed Obama's approval rating at 46 percent.

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The improvement in Obama's numbers comes mainly from male voters, according to the poll. His approval rating among men jumped from 39 percent before the killing of bin Laden, to 51 percent after. Among women, his approval rating rose by only one point between the two surveys.

Obama's approval rating on foreign policy has risen from 43 percent in pre-bin Laden polling to 51 percent. But on the economy, 57 percent of voters disapproved of Obama's job performance in both the pre- and post-bin Laden polls.

Other measures show a slight uptick for Obama. Despite a stagnant approval rating on the issue, more voters trust Obama to handle the economy (47 percent) than trust congressional Republicans (36 percent). Republicans had a one-point lead on that question in pre-bin Laden polling. But Republicans still hold a two-point edge on who would better handle the federal budget deficit -- an issue that could dominate the months ahead. Obama's re-election numbers also improved slightly. Now, 46 percent of voters say he deserves re-election, while 42 percent say he does not. That is up from a 45 percent-48 percent split in pre-bin Laden polling, and his all-time low recorded in late March of 41 percent-50 percent. Quinnipiac conducted two separate surveys. The first was conducted April 26-May 1; 1,409 registered voters were surveyed, for a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percent. The second survey was conducted Monday and Tuesday, surveying 834 registered voters. Those results carry a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percent.

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